Author: Randy
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What Ever Happened to Arranging?
Recently I have been reading up on big band writing, with the intent of composing some new music. What struck me in my studies is the deliberation and reverence for the art found throughout these books. There is something about doing it right. Art can have details, and…
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What is Your Greatest Weakness?
As musicians and humans in general, we can have a tendency to “favor” our weaknesses and character flaws. Much like a broken down pickup truck or appliance in our yard that we mow around (I do live in the South, after all,) these things don’t go away.…
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11 Ways to Feel Better
As musicians (and humans in general) we have a lot of stress and anxiety; this is inevitable. Perhaps we dream of a “stress-free” environment where we can relax and unwind… yet when we actually arrive there, we are just as keyed-up as ever. This is because we…
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How to Get More Work
Getting enough jobs to make ends meet is always a challenge for a musician. It entails marketing, personal relations, investment, preparation and a dash of psychology. How do we get the ball rolling, and what can we do to avoid problems?
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There is No Competition
Can you neutralize all your competition? Is it possible for you rise to the top in a busy, crowded field like music? Is there really room for imperfect, flawed artists like you and me when there are brilliant talents already out there?
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8 Ways We Avoid Making A Recording
Last time, we discussed the reasons why it is so important it is for us to make a recording of our music. While those reasons are compelling, as soon as we begin to build up a “head of steam,” various doubts and fears can creep in,…
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8 Reasons Why You Should Make a Recording Now
hen is the best time to release your new recording? Right now. Don’t have one? Let’s talk about why making one is so important, and how this can benefit you.
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Music Production Story Time
In The Not-So-Distant Future (la la la) (In this play, Randy will be crustily portraying the role of Grandpa) Kids: “Grandpa, tell us again about the days before Auto-Tune!” Grandpa: “Well, I know it’s hard to imagine, but there were these people called singers who could stand in front of an audience or a microphone…
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“Skillz” vs. “Swagg” or Doing vs. Appearing
With the new era of the internet, self-promotion and marketing have reached new levels of affordability and accessibility. Now anyone can have a website (like me!) or a “fan page” (me again) and can appear to be a “player” or a big time…
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Overcoming the Fear of Wasted Time
One thing that can really hold us back is the fear of going down a “dead end,” with the assumption that the precious time we spend traveling these paths will have gone to waste. In order to avoid this, we attempt to make sure we choose only what seem to be directions leading to certain…